CTN X brings animation community together to network, help out their fellow artists

Jim Hill

15 years ago

Are you an animation professional and/or a toon enthusiast? If so, then there’s only one place that you need to be this coming weekend. And that’s the CTN Animation Expo 2009.

Presented by the Creative Talent Network, this three-day long event actually gets underway today at the Burbank Marriott Airport Hotel & Convention Center. And it will bring together studio execs, top animators and industry legends in an effort to elevate, celebrate & promote animation.

I mean, you’re not going to believe the dazzling array of programming that Tina Price (i.e. award winning animator as well as founder of CTN) and her team put together for the inaugural Expo. Just check out some of these panels & seminars:

Today at 3 p.m. in Room 3, Joe Lanzisero of Walt Disney Imagineering will lead a panel discussion on Bringing Characters to Life in the Disney Theme Parks. Which will reveal many of the design & operational challenges that the Imagineers face when translating hand-drawn & CG characters from TV and movies to the Company’s theme parks and attractions.

On Saturday at 12 noon again in Room 3, award-winning director Roger Allers will sit down with Pixar story artists Ted Mathot, Scott Morse, Bill Presing, and Derek Thompson to discuss that Studios’ story development process.

On Saturday at 3 p.m. once again in Room 3, Kent Melton, Bruce Lau and Ruben Procopio will discuss the history of the maquette (Speaking of Mr. Procopio … Be sure and swing by JHM next Tuesday. When we’ll be posting a piece that profiles Ruben’s career as well as showcasing some of the work that he’s done for Masked Avenger Studios).

Again on Saturday, only this time in Room 2 at 5 p.m., noted animation historian Jerry Beck will be talking with two real pioneers of this industry, Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. Who paved the way for Walt Disney Feature Animation’s second golden age when they & 12 other animators bolted from the Burbank lot in September of 1979 and joined with Aurora Productions to launch a competing feature animation studio.
On Sunday at 4 p.m. again in Room 3, Tenny Chonin of Suspended Animation Gallery sits down with veteran story artist Ed Gombert to discuss how one goes about creating appealing animated characters.

CTN X attendees will also have all sorts of great shopping opportunities. Take — for example — Booth 11. Where Darrell Van Citters will be selling and then autographing copies of his new holiday hardcover, “Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol. The Making of the First Animated Christmas Special.”

As you can see, the CTN Animation Expo 2009 is about all about education. And people making connections. The animation community reaching out to help industry professionals who have been having a tough time in the current economy. Not to mention students who are just getting started with their animation careers.

And speaking of artists & animators reaching out, helping others, trying to take care of their own … Have you heard about Tony Bancroft & Chad Frye’s efforts to Help the Hodges?

For those of you who haven’t already heard … Matthew Hodge, the 17-year-old son of former Disney story artist and Big Idea production director Tim Hodge was in a serious automobile accident back in August. This unfortunate incident left this high school senior with severe head trauma. Which is why Matthew’s now in a state of coma.

Given that Tim is a self-employed artist … Well, that means the Hodges only had short term medical insurance. Which is why this family is now struggling to cover Matthew’s medical bills.

Thankfully, Tim has many friends in the animation community. Good people like Tony & Chad, who – when they heard about the Hodges’ plight – immediately got the word to other artists and animators.

And as a direct result … A veritable Who’s Who of the cartooning community has quickly come together. Donating incredibly collectible pieces of art that will soon be coming up for auction on-line. All in an effort to help the Hodges deal with the rapidly rising cost of Matthew’s hospitalization.

And some of the pieces that have been donated so far are just amazing. Take — for example — the “Princess and the Frog” poster that I’ve just posted above. This piece of promotional art is just the sort of thing that most serious Disney animation buffs would kill to own.

I mean, check out the signatures on this poster. This piece has been signed by most of the supervising animators who worked on this upcoming Walt Disney Animation Studios release (And just in case you’re wondering: That elite group of artists is made up of Ruben Aquino, Dale Baer, Anthony DeRosa, Eric Goldberg, Randy Haycock, Mark Henn, Nik Ranieri, Bruce Smith and Mike Surrey). This one-of-a-kind collectible also features the signatures of “TPATF” producer Peter Del Vecho as well as the directing team of Ron Clements and John Musker.

And that’s just the start of the terrific Mouse-centric items that will soon be coming up for bid. Wait ’til you see the great “Kim Possible” illustration that master character designer Stephen Silver created specifically for this fund-raiser.

Better yet, how about this sketch that “Up” director Pete Docter personally drew of Carl & Kevin from that Pixar film? Docter deliberately drew this image because he knew that it would be used to help the Hodges.

It’s like something straight out of a storybook …

… the way animators & cartoonists everywhere have quickly come together to try and help a fellow artist and his family through an incredibly tough time.

Mind you, the five pieces posted above are just a handful of the items that will soon be coming up for bid as part of an eBay fund-raising auction which will be hosted by the National Cartoonists Society Foundation. If you’d like to receive regular updates about this fund-raiser via Facebook, be among the first to know when this on-line auction has gone live, please click on this link.

On the other hand, if you’re just not willing to wait ’til this on-line fund-raiser gets started … If you’d like to help the Hodges TODAY by making a donation NOW, you can do so by clicking on THIS link.

And speaking of clicking …

To learn more about CTN Animation Expo 2009, please click on this link.

For further information on Matthew Hodge and his family’s struggles, please click on this link.

If you’re a professional artist and would like to donate a piece that could then be used by the National Cartoonists Society as part of its fund-raising efforts for the Hodges, please contact auction coordinator Chad Frye by clicking on this link.

That’s it for this week, folks … If you’d like to show your appreciation for all of the great stories that you’ve read at JimHillMedia.com over the years, please click on the banner above before you start your next Amazon shopping spree. If you do that … Well, then JHM gets a teeny tiny chunk of whatever you spend.

Happy Holidays!